By Oscar Wilde

Copyright theage

Trump’s inaction sharpens Putin’s willDavid Crowe posits that “Trump’s words belie his inaction”, (26/9). His conclusion is unmistakably perceptive, namely that “all the facts show that Putin judges Trump by his actions, not his words. So should we all.”Donald Trump’s statements on Ukraine have been a toxic mix of inherent contradictions, gross untruths and empty threats which have encouraged Vladimir Putin to intensify his slaughter of Ukraine’s people and infrastructure.As far as actions go, Trump has done absolutely nothing to deter the ruthless Putin and very little to assist Ukraine and its courageous President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Ukraine, Trump perfectly personifies the maxim, “⁣All talk and no action”.Kevin Burke, Sandringham

Oscar Wilde said it bestI paraphrase the often-quoted observations by Oscar Wilde (or Georges Clemenceau), that America is the only nation in history to have gone from barbarism to decadence without passing through civilisation.Once considered a rather “cute” or “flippant” comedic and simplistic analysis can now be seen as extremely prophetic.Mark Bennett, Manifold Heights

Ups and downsThe nursery rhyme ‘grand old Duke of York’ surely foresaw Trump.“And when he was up he was up, and when he was down he was down, and when he was only half way up he was neither up nor down”.Sean Geary, Southbank

Expert adviceThe US scare about paracetamol and autism may well subside (“⁣Researchers cautious on autism theory”⁣, 23/9). The refusal to fund US research into mRNA vaccines, however, is a signpost to disaster.Autocrats, unfortunately, are liable to promote crackpots, as in the mid-1900s Joe Stalin promoted Trofim Lysenko. Lysenko was the Soviet agricultural supremo who declared that the concept of gene was a bourgeois invention. Many Russian scientists were then persecuted and agriculture suffered enormously, while Russia missed out on the explosive development elsewhere of the science of genetics, once the function of DNA was understood.A scientific culture capable of meeting the next pandemic cannot be taken for granted.Stephen Stuart, Balwyn

Consult your doctorWith great fanfare, Donald Trump recently proclaimed that his administration had discovered the cause for autism among newborns. In a normal world, this news would be treated with celebration and great relief, however we need to consider who is making this claim and on what evidence is he basing his proclamation.Trump is basing his claim on some very dubious research that states that there is a “potential association”⁣ between women who have taken paracetamol during their pregnancies and autism.“Potential association” is anything but conclusive evidence for anything. You may as well say that research has found that 100 women who ate Coco Pops for breakfast while pregnant and then gave birth to autistic children proves that their choice of cereal in the morning is responsible for autism in newborns. There is absolutely no reputable evidence to even suggest a “causal” link between paracetamol and autism.This was confirmed by a chorus of medical experts who weighed in hours after Trump’s announcement.Unfortunately, women who take Trump at his word may be putting their own and the health of their unborn babies at risk by heeding his advice. Let’s not forget, that in his first term, Trump suggested unproven therapies to defeat the Coronavirus. Is this really the person we should be taking medical advice from?Gary Warren, Eltham